


Hot House Flower

by junko



Series: Written in the Scars (of Our Hearts) [21]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Pillow Talk, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-17
Updated: 2013-08-17
Packaged: 2017-12-23 19:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,248
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/930215
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/junko/pseuds/junko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the afterglow of sex, Renji and Byakuya talk.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hot House Flower

**Author's Note:**

> Not much happens in this installment, but I decided that was okay. Our boys could use a few happy-times to go with their sexy-times. "Tomorrow" is their last day together, and then back to all the plot-y bits!

The sensation of Byakuya peeling himself out of their embrace off woke Renji up. At Renji’s curious glance, Byakuya shook his head. Even in the semi-darkness of the hotel room, Byakuya eyes implored, ‘go back to sleep.’ 

With a nod, Renji let his eyes close heavily. Rolling over made a bunch of the books cascade noisily to the floor. “Aw, shit,” Renji muttered, and started shift in order to pick them up. Of course, this only caused another bunch to tumble, sleep making Renji stupid and clumsy, “Mrgh.”

A cool, firm hand grasped Renji’s calf where his leg stretched over the end of the bed. “They can wait.”

“You sure, Taicho?”

Fingers traced the new tattoos for a moment. Then, there was a disapproving tisk of a tongue. “Go back to sleep.” 

Naked, Byakuya padded off in the direction of the bathroom. 

Through half-lidded eyes Renji watched him go. Door opened, lights turned on, followed by fumbling noises until the shower started up. Renji smiled and shook his head. Poor Byakuya. The Human World just wasn’t for him.

Despite the command, Renji found he couldn’t sleep on all the books. He pulled himself up and with bleary, slow effort managed to make neat piles alphabetically by series on the windowsill. The book that seemed to have taken the most damage from their sport was one of the antique volumes of poetry. Renji carefully laid the torn cover to one side and straightened out the bent pages. Finding something heavy, Renji set it on top of the fragile book, hoping the pressure would work out the crinkles. It would probably be alright. At least it wasn’t stained. Byakuya surely knew a book conservator that could re-stitch the cover. 

Ironically, the only other book to take a serious hit was one of Renji’s bara. It was… gross and unreadable. He could barely flip the pages. With a sad sigh, he declared it a loss and tossed it in the little garbage bin beside the bedside table. 

Under the bed, Renji found the last few runaway yaoi titles and the cock strap thing. Renji hadn’t even remembered Byakuya taking it off him. He put the books in their respective order and tossed the strap-thingy into the sex toy drawer.

Then, he set about stripping the bed. He found a replacement comforter in the closet where Eishirō had hung up a startling array of silk shirts. It was like a rainbow of choices, though heavy on the cooler colors. There was one deep purple that really caught Renji’s eye. He’d have to try to talk Byakuya into wearing that tomorrow, since it was their last day together. Speaking of silk, Renji wasn’t quite sure what to do with the shredded bits of shirt on the floor. Leaving it for the moment, he spread out the new comforter and tucked it in with sharp, military style at the corners. “That’d pass inspection,” Renji muttered proudly to himself. 

Before crawling in and ruining the precision, Renji decided to just pile all of Byakuya’s clothes as neatly as possible on the chair by the door. Picking up the shirt bits, Renji shook his head at himself. Damn, he thought, putting the strips in a heap, looks like a wild animal tore it. 

His own clothes, he just kicked into a pile on his side of the bed. 

Renji nodded at his work. He’d feel better if he’d had a place to stash the dirty comforter, but there was only so much he could do without calling hotel staff. He could use a clean-up himself, but the shower was still going. Renji briefly entertained ‘surprising’ Byakuya by joining him…. But, Byakuya had told Renji to go back to sleep. If he’d wanted company, he would have asked for some.

Right. Renji’d just have to take a soak in the morning. He smelled like sweat and sex, but Byakuya wasn’t even expecting him to have changed the bedding, so maybe Byakuya wouldn’t be too disgusted by the state of him. Eh, Renji thought with a shrug as he pulled in the stuffed tiger to snuggle up with, if Byakuya thought he was too ripe, he could kick him out of bed. It wasn’t like Renji wouldn’t jump to command, no matter how sleepy.

With that thought, he pressed his face into the pushy-softness of the stuffed tiger and closed his eyes. He was out in a second.

#

 

Hearing Renji shuffle around in the other room made Byakuya jumpy. He steeled himself for the door to fly open and for Renji to stride in, offering to scrub his back or some such other excuse to get in another round of sex.

Byakuya’s teeth were on edge as he waited. At one point he heard a door open, but it wasn’t the one to the bathroom. He held his breath, his heart ticking in his throat. He nearly turned off the shower and grabbed for the hotel’s yukata, but, after several seconds of careful listening over the patter of the water, there were no other sounds.

Curious.

Having accidentally awoken Renji, Byakuya had been certain he’d get none of the alone time he desperately craved. As pleasant as the evening had turned out, Byakuya needed downtime, space to be on his own—especially after that horrifying ride in the subway. Byakuya didn’t know how to ask Renji for it, especially since Renji didn’t ever seem to need solitude or silence the way that Byakuya did. So he’d attempted stealth. Unfortunately, sweat and sex had made their bodies sticky. Byakuya had thought any hope of quiet time had been dashed.

Yet, it seemed his unspoken wishes were being granted.

With Renji seemingly settled back down, Byakuya’s shoulders relaxed. Byakuya stayed under the hot, pounding splash until the water began to cool. Reaching for a towel he dried himself off. 

Stepping out of the shower, Byakuya was startled by the dark camellia blossom mark on the gigai just above his chest. His fingers jumped to cover it, and then he slowly removed them. Curious, he stared at the reflection. Struck by how much it looked like a tattoo, his fingers unconsciously traced the lines.

He must show this to Renji. He’d be so pleasantly amused to see Byakuya marked like this. Wrapping the towel around his waist, Byakuya hurried back to the bedroom intending to rouse Renji. Only, when he flicked on the small lamp at the bedside, Byakuya was astounded by what he saw.

Renji had made the bed.

No, it was much more than that. Everything was neatly arranged and orderly—even the books seemed have been alphabetized by series and set in numerical sequence. Byakuya stood over the bed and blinked foolishly at it all, completely stunned. 

All the while Byakuya had been worrying about Renji barging in like an oaf, he was out here making sure things were the way Byakuya liked them.

Byakuya sat down, hard on the edge of the freshly made bed. “I don’t deserve you,” he said quietly, looking over at where Renji was tucked naked under comforter, cuddled up like a child to that stuffed tiger of his, red hair spilling over his face and the pillows.

#

Renji woke up to the sound of Byakuya calling his name. Dragging himself out of sleep, he fumbled for the edge of the bed and asked, “Ah, crap, is it time to leave already? Just gimme a sec to find my shihakushô.”

“You don’t have to leave,” Byakuya said. His voice dropped to a whisper, “Ever again.” 

“Oh, great,” Renji sighed in relief. Still half-asleep, he flopped back onto the mattress. He threw his arm over his face and started to doze.

“Renji?”

“Huh?” He lifted his arm and cracked open an eye. Byakuya had turned on the bedside lamp. It cast everything in the darkened room into sharp relief. Byakuya was leaning over him wearing nothing but a nubby, white hotel towel. Shadows swallowed most of Byakuya’s obsidian hair, but it was tousled and wet, clinging to his face and shoulders. The soft lamp light highlighted the sharp plains of his alabaster skin. 

A tender expression graced Byakuya’s face, and Renji could have stared up into those warm gray eyes forever, except his gaze was drawn to the dark mark on Byakuya’s pale chest. Blinking several times, Renji thought it must be a mirage, but then he remembered: the limiter. 

Byakuya seemed to follow his gaze and he smiled warmly. His fingers stray to his own chest to where the limiter looked like fresh ink. “I wanted you to see it.”

“You should totally get that as a tattoo,” Renji grinned. Sitting up a little to get a better look, he added with an enthusiastic nod, “It looks super hot on you.”

“A tattoo, for real?” Byakuya sneered, but he was clearly amused by the idea. He stood up and went over to the closet. “What would people say?”

“Not much, I’d imagine. Who’s going to say anything to you, Taicho Clan Head?” Renji propped himself up on his elbow to watch as Byakuya chose a simple dark green kimono from the closet. It had twin silver water dragons’ long bodies twisted around the sleeves, their tails entwining into a caduceus-like braid that stretched down the back. Renji continued, “Besides, the thing about a little one like that—no one would ever see it. It’s not like you go parading around without your shirt on in front of the entire division or anything.”

“Mmm,” Byakuya murmured teasingly, “Not like present company, you mean.”

“Exactly,” Renji nodded in acknowledgment. “You could totally get a tattoo.”

Letting the towel drop, Byakuya tied up the obi. Renji was surprised to see that he’d let the kimono hang loosely enough show off a peek of the limiter. But he was even more shocked when Byakuya admitted, “I must say I’m more than a little intrigued by the idea.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s quite obvious how fascinated I am by yours.” Byakuya came back over to the bed. Renji scotched over to make room, dragging his stuffed tiger out of the way. Pulling the sheets back, Byakuya sank in. After a few seconds of adjustment, he lay down on his back, his head on the pillows. Almost absently, his hand reached up to touch the spot where the limiter was under the kimono, and he added, “And a camellia would be appropriate.”

Renji let out a little huff of a laugh, “Your family would kill me if I took you to a tattoo parlor.”

“I’ve been to one, of course,” Byakuya said turning to give Renji a little teasingly admonishing look, “To retrieve the kenseikan shard.”

Despite Byakuya’s little smile, Renji winced. He’d been hoping they could avoid talking about that incident forever. He let himself fall back and hid his face with the crook of his elbow again. From under cover of his arm, he groaned. “Uh, yeah, have I said how sorry I am about that? I might have gotten a little drunk… and stupid—er. Yeah, stupid _er_.”

Byakuya said nothing for a while. “I can’t deny I was very angry and hurt at first. However, the situation was resolved and your new tattoos are—well, not worth the kenseikan piece by far, but still beautiful.”

Beautiful? Renji lifted his arm to smile over at Byakuya. Byakuya’s eyes were closed, though he was clearly still awake. It seemed clear that was all that they needed to say on the subject, so Renji swallowed back another apology. He rolled over to fluff up his stuffed tiger, “You going to stay up for a while?” He glanced over at the manga on the window sill. “I could grab a book for you.”

When Renji glanced back Byakuya looked pleasantly surprised. Pushing up into a more seated position, he nodded, “Yes, that would be lovely, could you? I’m on volume two of the one I was reading before.”

Renji stretched his arm out of bed and was able to pull out number two, and on impulse he nabbed the third one as well. At Byakuya’s raised eyebrow, Renji explained, “I figure you’re a fast reader.”

Byakuya didn’t seem to know what to do with that statement, but he took the extra book and set it on the nightstand. “Thank you.”

“Goodnight,” Renji said.

Byakuya said nothing in return, but Renji decided Byakuya must already be deep into his book. So, turning his back on the light, Renji snuggled up tightly to his tiger and closed his eyes. He was nearly asleep when Byakuya’s hand on his head surprised him. He opened his eyes, only to feel them being lulled closed again with rhythmic stroking of his hair. 

“I never expected you to be such a considerate companion, Renji Abarai,” Byakuya said softly. “Yet, despite our disparate personalities, you continue to prove yourself an ideal partner in so many ways.”

Renji wondered if he were dreaming, because, thinking back on the day—outside of some pretty decent sex—he couldn’t think of a thing he’d done to deserve this praise. In fact, he could only think of all the embarrassing shit he’d pulled. He could feel his cheeks heating from the memory. His fingers curled around the plushy tiger, holding it as tightly as he held his breath.

Byakuya’s hand continued to stroke Renji’s hair tenderly, however. So he must be thinking about something that had pleased him. 

Renji wanted to ask what it might be so he could keep doing it, but he was afraid to break the spell of this moment. Silence was rarely a strength of Renji’s, but he’d been learning when to fill spaces and when to leave them be. His gambit paid off almost immediately.

“I wish I knew better how to be what you need,” Byakuya said, as though to himself. His fingers lightly pushed through a snarl in Renji’s hair. “I’m terribly envious of your intuition or whatever it is that makes you able to sense the parts of me that are unwilling to be touched.”

Renji had to stifle a sarcastic grunt. After all, Byakuya had been pretty clear from the start about certain no-touch zones. How much Renji was allowed to participate was half the battle of their relationship. But, Renji knew Byakuya was talking about more than just sex here. 

He meant the vulnerable stuff. Personal shit.

Byakuya let out a little self-deprecating sigh. “I’m afraid I must be like some kind of hot-house, exotic orchid, in need of an unreasonable amount of extra care and handling. I’ve no idea why you put up with it.”

Now Renji did let out a snort. “Yeah, but, see, I get an orchid out of the deal. That’s a special thing. Rare. Precious. Fucking gorgeous. I’d do anything to keep that.”

“I think you would,” Byakuya’s hand left Renji’s head and was replaced briefly by a soft kiss. Renji considered turning into it and trying to nab Byakuya’s lips, but Byakuya had shifted away in a second. Renji half-turned in enough time to see Byakuya mark his place in the book and set it aside. The light clicked off and Byakuya rolled up to spoon against him. In the dark, Byakuya’s breath was against Renji’s neck, as his arm curled around the covers at Renji’s waist. “And I’m selfish to want that, I think.”

Renji could not figure out this mood Byakuya was in. What was he feeling bad about? They’d had a great weekend. Renji patted Byakuya’s hand briefly before returning to hug the tiger. “It’s all good. No worries.”

“I wish I were taking you back instead of Rukia,” Byakuya confessed. 

“And I wish I could go with you,” Renji agreed. “It feels stupid to stay here. My team isn’t exactly doing anything. Rukia is going back with you. Last I heard Ikkaku joined the high school kendo team. Yumichika and Matsumoto are shopping. Captain Hitsugaya is sulking… or playing soccer with Ichigo’s sister, I’m not sure which, probably both, which must be a sight. Frankly, I’m not sure what the hell any of us are accomplishing.”

Byakuya sighed. “Indeed. However, I doubt Aizen is in retreat.”

“I guess,” Renji said dejectedly. “I kind of feel like a complete moron of a squad leader, given how scattered and unfocused we all are. Of course, it doesn’t help that Captain Hitsugaya technically outranks me so I’m never quite sure if I can actually issue orders.”

Byakuya seemed to consider the problem for a moment and Renji could feel him nodding against his back. “The autonomous structure of the Gotei makes this sort of teamwork tricky. None of us play very well together.”

Renji shook his head. “It’s more than just coordinating everyone; I can’t even get Ikkaku to fight alongside another shinigami. Sempai won’t even tag team. He nearly died going up against an Arrancar by himself last time, and Yumichika just stood there and watched, because that’s what we do. Most of the shinigami think it’s shameful to let someone else take over, much less actually have strategies that go beyond one-on-one. But, these new enemies kicked our asses, and I worry that this kind of pig-headedness is going to be the end of us.”

“It has long bothered me that there’s so little attempt to function like a real army,” Byakuya mused. “I’ve been very pleased by your attempts to organize the division into fighting squads that could be deployed singly or together. It’s a shame you couldn’t have brought the division to this fight.”

Renji found he was blushing again. He wasn’t used to this kind of praise from Byakuya. He pulled at the stuffed tiger’s ear, and decided he had to change the subject. “How’s Nanako doing, by the way? She treating you okay?”

“Fourth Seat Imai is adequate,” Byakuya said tersely.

That didn’t sound good. Renji craned around to try to see Byakuya’s expression, but it was hidden by the darkness and the nearness of their bodies. “I gave her really detailed instructions. What’d she do wrong?”

“She doesn’t know me, Renji.” Byakuya said, looking up to give him a soft smile. “She tries, but she hasn’t your intuition. Moreover, she’s unfamiliar with the higher level administration. Also, I think I scare her a little.”

“Heh,” Renji smiled, “I could see that. You’re a scary guy.”

Byakuya sounded a little hurt, “Am I, truly?”

“Well, it’s fairly common knowledge you shredded me to a pulp,” Renji said with a small laugh. “And, I’m a whole hell of a lot stronger than the Fourth Seat, you know what I mean?” Byakuya was quiet, so Renji continued, “Plus, I think I remember that Nanako said she was born in the Seireitei, but her parents were shinigami, not nobles. Maybe all your nobility stuff freaks her out and she doesn’t know what to do with it.”

“That would be just as true for a minor noble,” Byakuya said. “Possibly even more so, since they would be very aware of the distance.”

Renji nodded. “Yeah, like I said. There’s no flower more precious.”

Byakuya huffed a little laugh, “You flatter me.”

Giving Byakuya’s hand another quick squeeze, Renji closed his eyes, “It’s easy.”

They fell into silence after that, and with Byakuya’s body and his reiatsu surrounding Renji, it was easy to drift happily.

_Why can’t we always be like this?_ Renji wondered as his eyes finally closed and he fell asleep.


End file.
